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Audiofile Issue 01
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[ ISSUE #1 ]
[ Table of Contents ]
"Introduction to Audiofile" ............................. Basehead
"Tracking...is it commercially viable?" .................. Siren
"Chord forms, Theory, and the devil" ....................... Aahz
"Sample synthesis via sinewave modulation and Goldwave ...... The Hacker
"Percussion in Tracked Music" ............................. GraveDigger
"Dynamic Tracking" ........................................ Psibelius
"Mind to Tracker" ........................................... Mick Rippon
"Tracking: Non-'Musical' Music" ............................ LakEEE
"Basic Drums and Percussion" ............................... Leviathan
"An Outlook on Tracking" .................................. Future Assassin
"The Process - Part I" .................................... Necros
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"Introduction to Audiofile" by Basehead / FM
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Allo all, i am on the keys once again for the first time since my TW article
way back in god-knows-when '95. Alot has happened since then, so i wouldn't
dare recap it all for you. For one thing, this is not that type of magazine,
and for another most of you have probably already been following things in TW
or DN, etc.
I'd been wanting to do a serious tracking tfile mag for quite a long time. I
have mentioned the idea to people for many many months, and some friends of
mine expressed interest. Essentially, i wanted to do something like this
because while TW and DN are good to keep up with for scene news and the like,
there isn't awhole lot in them too often which really gets down to the meat
and potatoes of how to get better at your art (with the exception of some
rather indepth coding articles in DN). Often, during the time i spend on
#trax, many will express the need for some sort of guidance, ideas, clues as
to how to transfer what they know they can do, and the music in their head
to the tracker. For this first issue i have called upon some knowledgable
friends of mine share their insights into tracking and to share some of
their techniques and tips with you all. I'm quite sure you will find the mag
useful and interesting.
As of now, there is no set release time for a second issue and unlike most
other mags, this will not be weekly or monthly necessarily. It will come out
whenever i can get a good chunk of quality work together. There is no mailing
list for the mag either, but i have spoken with psibelius who will be happy
to put a copy of this mag out on the TW mailing list. It will be in the form
of a uuencoded zipfile. Additionally, this mag will be spread on #trax and
will be uploaded as subsequent issues are released, to ftp.cdrom.com in the
/pub/demos/incoming/news directory, so look for them there.
I will *not* publish scene commentary, life stories, complaints, etc here.
It is not the place for ramblings like that. There should be a consistent
source of useful material for beginning and advanced-level trackers alike,
and i am willing to undertake the job of making sure that's exactly what
audiofile becomes. If you think you have a real quality article, you can
email it to me at the address at the bottom of this article, or at the bottom
of the mag itself, but please do not be offended if it is not necessarily
published. Articles should be a minimum of 4-5 25-line pages and formatted
to 78 columns. Also make sure your handle, email address, and title of the
article are included.
I have done my best to make sure some of the most knowledgable trackers in
the world have contributed to this mag, and i will continue to do so. In the
next few issues i would like to get some more european trackers to write, and
possibly a few more articles per issue.
If you have any questions or comments regarding this mag, again, send them to
the address below..
Until next time..
-- basehead | af editor
-- bh@fm.org
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"Tracking...is it commercially viable?"
An article by Siren of KFMF (Alexander Brandon) / email: alec@citcom.net
_____________________________________________________________________________
Tracking, put simply, and as many of us know, is taking digital
samples and sequencing them by hand, creating music. No expensive
synthesizers, no 32 channel mixers taking up table space. Just the composer,
his or her computer, and the samples they use. Pure sound organization with
every little detail under your control. No quantizing (perhaps a bit of
humanizing), no retakes, and in a matter of days a seasoned tracker can
produce a piece that sounds extremely close to a commercial one.
Sounds amazing, doesn't it? Well, stop drooling, because excellent
music, done with expensive studio or tracker, takes a lot of work. I
don't wish to discourage, since CDs have been produced with tracked music,
but there are a lot of little things to learn before a composer can emulate
real instrumentation using tracked music.
Let us begin with the foundation of any piece: the samples, or the
instruments and sounds you plan to use in your work. Say you want a 12
string accoustic guitar solo in your song. What do you do? The easiest thing
to do is to sample an entire solo by attaching a pickup to a guitar and
plugging it right into your soundcard, breaking the solo up into pieces, and
pasting it into the song. With Impulse Tracker and Fast Tracker II (both
available on ftp.cdrom.com) this is possible, and the best way to get a
realistic sound. However, you do this and your song will be very large (if
your samples are 16 bit >22khz the song will be over 2 megs in size). A
better idea would be to sample single guitar strums. With 300k of different
samples from a guitar one could create a solo almost indistinguishable from
the real thing. This applies to nearly every instrument save for synthesized
sounds and organs. This is where tracking seriously lacks in ease of
production. What one could play on a guitar and record right into a piece
takes hours of offsetting, volumizing and fine tuning numerous samples of
that same guitar.
Samples can be obtained from audio CDs, data CDs, or even your
favorite albums if you don't play an instrument. 600 or more samples
professionally recorded will cost you up to 100 dollars though, so choose
wisely.
Using the samples is the next step, and the trickiest one, since
only delicate and careful control of your instruments can yield pro sounds.
This is covered in numerous articles found in the newsletter "TraxWeekly",
written by some of the best trackers out there: Necros, Basehead and Spyder
to name a few. To sum up, all it takes is your instruments, a tracker (such
as Impulse or Fast Tracker II), imagination, inspiration, and practice. Those
articles contain some real important tips... give 'em a read.
The point is, "can I make a REAL album with tracked songs?" This is
the ultimate question, since many are in production right now, but I am not
aware of one previously released that has sold in overwhelming numbers.
This is due to either lack of marketing funds, lack of talent and practice
(no offense intended), or lack of a big label altogether. Hopefully this will
change in the near future, because some of my favorite music has been tracked,
and I hope the audience for tracked music will one day be as many and varied
as those who listen to the Top 40. :)
Necros of FM is working on a commercial quality CD for a late summer
/early autumn release this year, and Sirrus and myself are working on an
album titled "Direction". Another notable tracked CD is "Nothing is True"
by Maelcum of KFMF, available through his own label Area 51 records. More
information will follow on the upcoming CDs in a full report sometime in June.
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[=--------------------------------------------------------------------------=]
[=Chord Forms, Theory Stuff, And a bit'o'mindless hero worship of the police=]
[=--------------------------------------------------------------------------=]
ok we begin with a quick summary of the chord forms I will be covering in this
article... all of the chords are based over C so that you can easily cheese
the forms out of this article and toss them right into your macro chords in
st3, or onto post it note for future reference, or any other memory catching
technique.
14 Really Cool Chord forms Based on C (well 12.. because 1 and 2 are rather
boring actually)
1.Major - C E G
2.Minor - C D# G
3.Suspended 2nd - C D G
4.Suspended 4th - C F G
5.7th - C E G A#
6.7th Suspended 4th - C F A#
7.Major 7th - C E G B
8.Major 7th (Sharp 11th) - C E G F# [this one is cheesed =) -Ed.]
9.Minor 7th - C D# G A#
10.Minor 7th (Flat 5th) - C D# F# A#
11.Major 9th - C E B D [G may or may not be implied -Ed.]
12.Minor 9th - C D# A# D
13.Minor 11th - C D# A# F
14.Major Add 9th - C E G D
Detailed description of a sus2nd.. (To Clear up an issue I have)
A suspended 2nd chord is a triad whos 3rd is replaced with a major 2nd, thus
creating the voicing: 1,2,5. This Can sound similar to an Add9 Chord
(1,3,5,9) but it is a truely different chord. So please go now to your Future
Crew sample directory and rename the infamous sus2nd brass chord to an add 9.
That is in fact the chord that it is.. Technically even though the 2 chords
sound similar.. an add9 cannot be expressed as a modified sus2nd voicing
because the 3rd is still present..
Suspended 2nd Users And Abusers..
do you recognize any of these songs.. the chord progressions contain good use
of a suspended second chord play one using the form I outlined above
and see if you can pick out sus2nds in these cool tunes
"Hina" - Steve Vai
"Purple Rain" - The Artist formarly known as prince
"Message In a Bottle" - The Police
"Ramble On" - Led Zepplin
Get to know the sus2nd.. all 4 of those songs spent at least one week in the
billboard top ten.. [gack =) -Ed.]
Now as a point of interest, many years have passed since the commodore c64
a machine where we were limited to 3 channels and arpeggios.. arpeggios by
there very nature could not handle Big chords... it could only handle simple
ones (major, minor, etc) But I see no reason now to stick to the same boring
chord progressions.. C, E, G. or E, C, D. Basically boring staid 80's
1980's demo music chord progressions... and many of todays young compositional
minds are thinking of these same dumb ideas.. now as an attempt to make music
simple and fun for everyone.. I present the big chart.... it is basically
based again in the key of C major and it is a chart of chords that work in the
Key of C besides the major or minor simple ones.. the best part.. you can trak
this chart.. and transpose it.. and kapow.. you have Aahz's 7 hip chords in
the key of F# or D what fun!
Basically all 7 of these chords will work in the transposed key.. you can mix
and match and create a large number of chord progressions that don't suck
once again.. I list all chords in one voicing... but you aren't tethered to
it.. Eg. Cmaj7: C E G B you can play jumble like so.. C G B E <-Still A
Cmaj7.
Its tons of fun just jumble play the notes ascending from the root, and whamo!
Its a different voicing nothing to it..
Onto the chart
Current Key = Cmajor
C E G B = Cmaj7
D F A C = Dmin7
E G B D = Emin7
F A C E = Fmaj7
G B D F = G7
A C E G = Amin7
B D F A = Bmin7(Flat5)
Example Transposed Chart
Current Key = F# (7Sharps)
F# A# C# E# = F#maj7
G# B D# F# = G#min7
A# C# E# G# = A#min7
B D# F# A# = Bmaj7
C# E# G# B = C#7
D# F# A# C# = D#min7
E# G# B D# = E#min7(Flat5th)
Do you see the pattern forming... you start on the root note of your key name
ie: C, F# or whatever and simply ascend the letters of the alphabet till you
reach G and Start over at A if neccesary... pay attention to the sharps and
flats of the key signature and thats it.. Pure ease.. ie: C,D,E,F,G,A,B or F#,
G#,A#,B,C#,D#,E#. Using the forms I gave you this chart works in any key
signature..
Now you can avoid chord progressions that are stale and boring.. Which is a
good thing because a good chord progression is the backbone of your song..
and often should take priority over a cheesy lead
- Aahz / Carcass (d.fitches@cimtegration.com)
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sample synthesis via sinewave modulation and Goldwave .......................
............................................... by Krisjanis Gale (theHacker)
Undoubtedly, you've heard them in chiptunes. If you've ever loaded one
one up in st3 or ft2, you know what they look like. And if you've ever taken
a class in trigonometry, you know where they come from. Of course I speak
of perhaps the most useful of all waves - the sinewave.
You may unwittingly assume that sinewaves are boring in their standard
form and you would indeed be correct. When the sine function is calculated
with respect to time and its results dumped to a raw file and when it is
loaded into your favorite tracker, its peculiar sound, although novel at
first, quickly becomes annoying. Often, in an attempt to make it more
interesting, musicians modify its sound by abusing the portamento and volume
slide effects. This too results in banality.
So why bother with sinewaves? That's a good question, and the very
point of this article. The sine function, when modulated over time and only
then dumped to a sample file can yield many vastly interesting sounds. From
snares to organs to bassdrums to faked resonance-filtered acid samples,
modulated sinewaves take on varied and distinct personalities.
At this point, I assume that you have at least tried to use Goldwave's
expression evaluator, but were clueless as to what to type into the function
field. That's okay. Let's start at the very beginning. Load up Goldwave
and create a new file. Disregard the standard sample rate and enter
44000. The reason? Well, for the most part you will want to use sinewaves
with frequencies that are multiples of 55 hertz. This is both convenient
and benificial, as 55 hertz happens to be a perfectly tuned A. So, waves
with frequencies 55, 110, 220, 440, 880, 1760, etc. are all A's. The reason
you want to use a sample rate of 44000 is that it is evenly divisible by any
one of these frequencies.
So now you have a new file open. Now what? Well, let's synthesize one
cycle of a sinewave with frequency of 220 hertz (middle A). Select the
expression evaluator and input this function: sin(2*pi*t*220). The sine
function repeats after 2*pi. So that's just a constant that says you want
one complete cycle of sine. 't' refers to time. Goldwave considers sample
position 0 as t=0 and the sample rate as t=1. So for a file using a sample
rate of 44000, t would become 1 at sample position 44000. So, the function
sin(2*pi*t) would yield one cycle of sine across one second, or a sinewave
with frequency 1 hertz. But we wanted 220 hertz; hence the frequency
modifier. You could enter the function sin(2*pi*t*f) and input '220' in the
'f' field towards the bottom of the expression evaluator dialogue box; that's
entirely up to you. The results are the same.
So now you have a sinewave. Or rather, you have 220 repetitions of the
same cycle of the sine function per second. This might seems needlessly
redundant, and it is. Let's reduce this file down to just one cycle of the
sine function we just used. Since we have 220 cycles per second and we're
using a sample rate of 44000 then one would expect that each cycle of the
sine function only occupies (44000/220) sample positions, or 200.
(I am using "sample positions" instead of bytes for reasons of clarity.
Every sample position takes 2 bytes when you're working with 16 bit files.)
So, highlight 200 sample positions and crop them. We now have one cycle
of the function: sin(2*pi*t*220).
All this work just to derive the same sinewave that's been overused
in chiptunes since the beginning of time... great. Relax. There was a
reason for all this. Now that you know how to make a sinewave, you know
how to modify it. Let's start with very basic frequency modulation.
Try this function: sin(2*pi*t*(220-(55*sin(2*pi*t)))). This is a sinewave
with a frequency that bounces between (220-55) and (220+55) every second.
Use sin(2*pi*t*(220-(55*sin(2*pi*t*55)))) to make it modulate between
(220-55) and (220+55) 55 times a second. Experiment with other inner
functions for other forms of modulation. Okay, so that's frequency
modulation. Another really useful way to spice up the sine function
is with amplitude modulation.
Allow me to first introduce three more Goldwave symbols. 'n' is like 't'
but it refers to the current sample position. 'T' and 'N' refer to maximum
time and maximum sample position. For a one-second file with sample rate
of 44000, T=1 and N=44000. Clever use of 't', 'T', 'n', and 'N' can yield
many forms of fading and modulated amplification. Just for argument sake,
enter the function: (n/N). What do you see? A diagonal line occupying
the upper half of the sample window. Try: ((N-n)/N). Gee, it's a line
going in the other direction.
Simplistic though they may seem, these tiny expressions become powerful
when used as multipliers for other functions. Try this on a one-second file:
((N-n)/N)*sin(2*pi*t*220). It's our 220hz sinewave again, but it fades out
over time. ((T-t)/T)*sin(2*pi*t*220) would have the same effect. Let's try
another form of amplitude modulation: cos((pi/2)*(n/N))*sin(2*pi*t*220).
It's another faded sinewave, but it's being modified by a nonlinear function.
So now you know just about all there really is to know about amplitude
modulation. Again, experiment until it makes sense and until you find your
own interesting functions.
Okay, so you know how to make a sinewave and how to modify it via two
important methods. Now what? Believe it or not, using only these three bits
of knowledge you can create fantastic synthesized sound. The key is this
and this alone: EXPERIMENT. Take the sine of a sine; add two different
waves; square the sine function; cube the sine function; mix a faded-out
sinewave with another that's fading in; do all of the above; etc. Just
remember that this is time well spent. Not only are you learning more about
how many expensive synthesizers make their sound, but you're creating the
cleanest and most original of all sound.
Krisjanis Gale
theHacker[ultrabeat/fyoozhen/kfmf]
kgale@attila.stevens-tech.edu
06/18/96
.............................................................................
To get you started, here's a list of some of my own expressions
for Goldwave. Some were derived methodically, others accidentally. Enjoy
them, but more importantly, learn from them.
Key: 'N' - file length in sample positions (not bytes).
'f' - (initial) frequency
* where N and f aren't specified, try N=sample rate (1 second)
and 220, or experiment with other values.
.............................................................................
// Typical sinewave:
sin(2*pi*t*f)
{} A good starting point for all equations.
// 6 multiples:
sin(2*pi*t*f)*sin(4*pi*t*f)*sin(8*pi*t*f)
*sin(16*pi*t*f)*sin(32*pi*t*f)*sin(64*pi*t*f)
{} Six sinewaves, multiplied by each other. A very odd synth indeed.
// Very odd use of sine:
sin(4*sin(8*pi*f*t))
{} A sine of a sine? Yup... to create varying degrees of weirdness, play
a bit with the multipliers before the second sine and before the pi.
// "Beep":
(4/3)*((N-n)/N)*sin(16*pi*t*f)
{} The 4/3 takes the sine wave just beyond the clipping point...
this creates initial loudness, fading down to nothing.
// Interesting sin/tan combination:
((N-n)/N)*sin(2*pi*t*f)+(1/256)*tan(2*pi*t*f)
{} Sure, everyone's used the sine function to generate synths, but who
ever thought of using the tangent function?!
// Clavichord synth:
(rand(8)/8)*sin(rand(8)*pi*t*f)
{} Experiment with the random values and evaluate several times to get
the sound you want.
// Neat organ synth:
((N-n)/N)*sin(8*pi*f*t)+(n/N)*sin(2*pi*f*t)
{} You'll swear it's a real percussive organ; have fun with it by adding
echo and/or using longer file lengths.
// Pretty good snare:
((N-n)/N)*sin(2*pi*t*f)+(1/2)*((N-n)/N)*sin(rand(16)*t*f)
{} No joke, it sounds like a snare; experiment with the random value if you
want a more (or less) "pure" sinewave; completely eliminate the random
function to generate a synth-tom.
// "Kwerk":
(11/10)*((N-n)/N)*sin(16*pi*((f*(N-n))/N)*t)
{} The frequency decreases as the evaluator moves through each byte,
creating a quirky sound that starts out with a high frequency
and ends up at zero.
// Phaser:
((N-n)/N)*sin(2*pi*sqrt(t)*f)
{} Sounds much like a vintage Star Trek sound effect.
// Another good snare:
((N-n)/N)*(sin(2*pi*sqrt(t*f))+(1/4)*sin(2*pi*t*rand(4)*f))
{} Almost sounds like a 909 snare.
// Beat pulse:
((N-n)/N)*sin(2*pi*sqrt(t*f))
{} Not a true bassdrum, but can be used as one.
// Overdriven beat pulse:
(4/3)*cos((pi/2)*(n/N))*(sin(2*pi*sqrt(t*f))
+((1/8)*cos((pi/2)*(n/N))*sin(2*pi*t*rand(4)*f)))
{} Same as above, but overdriven and with slight noise added.
// Acid emulation:
sin(2*pi*t*f*cos(2*pi*t*f))
{} Almost sounds like a 303 acid sample.
// Spacey alarm:
sin(pi*t)*sin(2*pi*t*f*sin(16*pi*t*f))
{} A REALLY WEIRD equation. Try it and see!
// Frequency modulation:
(sin(2*pi*t*(55-(55*(2*pi*t*55))))+sin(2*pi*t*(55+(55*(2*pi*t*55)))))/2
{} Sounds like something straight out of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
// Deep boom tom:
(cos(pi*(n/16000))^2)*(sin(2*pi*t*(110+(110*sin(pi*(n/16000)))))
+sin(2*pi*t*220)+sin(2*pi*t*(440-(220*sin(pi*(n/16000))))))
{} A very deep boom when played back at low frequencies.
// Frequency-modulated beat pulse:
sin(2*pi*t*(f/(2^(t*40))))
f=880
N=4400
rate=44000
{} Makes a nice bass drum.
// Shorter freq-mod pulse:
sin(2*pi*t*(f/(2^(t*160))))
f=1760
N=4400
rate=44000
{} Slight modification of previous synth.
// High-pitch freq-mod pulse:
sin(2*pi*t*((f+(880*sin(2*pi*t*440)))/(2^(t*160))))
f=1760
N=4400
rate=44000
{} Modification of original with far more modulation.
// Bizarre alarm sound:
(sin(10*pi*t)*sin(2*pi*t*(t*4400)))
+(sin(20*pi*t)*sin(2*pi*t*(220+(219*sin(40*pi*t)))))
T=1
rate=44000
{} Accidentally discovered synth; pretty cool sound effect.
// Metallic pulse:
(4/3)*cos((pi/2)*(n/N))*(sin(2*pi*(n/N)*f)
+((1/4)*sin(2*pi*t*rand(4)*f*8)))
f=3520
N=8000
{} A beat pulse with a strange metallic quality.
// Crackly snare:
(cos((pi/2)*(n/N))^4)*((sin(2*pi*sqrt(t*f))^3)
+((1/4)*(cos((pi/2)*(n/N))^2)*tan(2*pi*t*rand(16)*f)))
f=1760
N=4000
{} Very interesting snare modification.
.............................................................................
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"Percussion in Tracked Music"
__Introduction
Hello and thanks for reading my first article for Audiofile. Thanks to
basehead for organizing it and getting on my case to write something. :)
In this article I'd like to share some of my ideas about tracking percussion.
I'm not going to discuss rhythm or time signatures in this article, but
instead how to lay out the individual sounds within your desired drum track.
__Starting out
The first step to creating a percussion accompaniment for a tracked tune is
to select your sample set. Depending on the style of music you are writing,
you will need to select appropriate sounds which fit into your musical
concept. For example, a distorted 909 bass drum doesn't sound good in jazz.
Nor is a brushed snare fitting to an industrial song.
Some people also fail to assemble a *complete* percussion sample set. This
limits one's ability to create a drum track which varies enough to keep the
piece interesting. Here's a listing of a "standard" drum kit used by rock
bands:
- Bass Drum
- Snare Drum
- 5 toms, decreasing in pitch [3 toms: 2 raised and 1 floor is also common
- Hi-hat - Ed.]
- Ride Cymbal
- 2 Crash Cymbals
You may want to have multiple samples for each of the above instruments, to
help provide different textures. Often people will use more than one tom
sample to cover a wider range of pitches without playing a sample out of its
"sweet" range.
You also should get at least two hi-hat samples to cover "opened" and "closed"
positions. If you can find any samples that would fall between the first two,
use it for an even more realistic effect. The position of the cymbals on a
hi-hat can change slightly and the resulting sound will be different.
Below are some additional percussion sounds which are more common to
orchestral percussion sets:
- Tympani
- Tambourine
- Bongos
- Conga
- Marimba
- Chimes
__Crash Cymbals
Crash cymbals (in real life) contain an initial attack, then a steady and
constant fade. I have seen lots of crash cymbal samples that get cut off at
the end before a complete fade can be done. There are a few ways to get
around this:
- Loop the end of the sample and perform a manual fade with volume commands
or volume fading effects once the loop begins. This may be acceptable
for songs where sample space is limited, such as a chiptune, but will
usually not be acceptable for normal standards.
- Fade the cymbal with volume commands or volume fading effects before the
end of the sample is reached.
- Use echoed cymbal crashes to cover over a sudden fadeout ending
__Sustained Cymbals
A sustained cymbal is one that is used to slowly raise the volume of a cymbal.
It is usually played with two small padded mallets. The harder and the faster
the cymbal is struck, the louder it will become.
At the end of a cymabl creschendo, it is usually struck once and played as a
crash.
Trackers can produce this effect very easily by reversing a crash cymbal
sample. However if you're using a sustained cymbal sample that is different
from your crash cymbal sample, be sure to get the pitch of the two relatively
close.
__Stereo Panning
For this topic I want to go in-depth and explain the method I use for
determining how to place a percussion effect into an appropriate position in
the stereo panning spectrum.
Typically, there are two ways to pan with this method:
- Pan the instruments as if you were the one playing a drum kit
- Pan the instruments as if you were in an audience
With these two methods, everything would be reversed as you would either be
in front of, or behind, a drum set. The description which follows will explain
the position of the instruments as seen by a drummer sitting behind a set.
__Layout of a Drum Set
At the center of the drum kit, we have the bass, or "kick" drum which sits on
the floor. Above that and directly in front of the drummer is the snare drum.
These instruments are fairly common and don't need an introduction. Since
these two drums are prominent in most rhythms, and are positioned at the
center of a drum set, these instruments should be in the middle of the stereo
spectrum.
The hi-hat is best described as two cymbals facing each other, connected to a
pole. At the base of this pole is a footpedal which when pressed will bring
the cymbals together. This instrument is commonly found on the left side of
a drum set.
With a 16-step panning command, I would suggest placing hi-hats about two
notches left of center. I have heard people who like to pan alternating
hi-hats between left and right. Now, no offense to people who do that, but I
just think it sounds silly.
There are different levels of attack on the hi-hat also. Most sample sets
just have "opened" and "closed" hi-hat samples. To really spice up your
percussion track, try to get several varying hi-hat samples with different
attacks.
Toms are drums which are on top of the bass drum, and also on the floor to
the right of the bass drum. Starting at the leftmost tom drum, they go
downwards in pitch. They don't have as definitave of a pitch as tympani,
which can be tuned to a certain note.
Toms are mostly used for fills and solos. When tracking tom drums in your
song, begin with the highest pitch panned a bit left of center, and as the
pitch decreases, bring it through the middle and to the right of the center.
Ride cymbals are commonly used in place of hihats in a drum beat. A ride
cymbal is usually to the right of two toms on the bass drum. I suggest
panning it an equal distance from the middle but on the opposite side from
the hi-hat.
Crash cymbals usually follow a drum fill or mark the beginning of a new
musical section within a piece. Typically, a drum kit would have two crash
cymbals (or a cymbal with a similar purpose). There would be one to the
left of the bass drum, and above and behind the hi-hat. There might also be
one above the ride cymbal.
If one crash cymbal is struck in a piece, it is usually the one on the right,
because the drummer is often recovering from a tom-fill at that point, and
is in the position to strike the right crash cymbal.
Two crash cymbals panned equidistance from the center can provide a much more
dramatic effect. This can help indicate a musical transition.
__Establishing a Panning Range
Another thing to be careful of when panning percussion sounds is where it will
fit in the stereo spectrum as compared to the other instruments in your piece.
Picture a live band on stage. At the very center and in the back is the drum
set. On the left and right are usually stacks of amplifiers.
To give the impression of being similar to a real live band, you might wish
to pan your percussion within the stereo spectrum according to how it fits
with other instruments in a live performance setting. Using this method, you
would use the guidelines discussed above for selecting the approximate
position for each instrument, then be sure your entire percussion section
is closer to the center than lead voices.
Additional percussion instruments which you might use don't necessarily have
to be in the center. Perhaps a backup singer is at the far right of the
stage playing a couple bongos, or a tambourine.
__Orchestral Percussion
A percussion layout at an orchestral performance of course will be very
different than a typical rock band drum kit. For one thing, there will
typically be several percussionists, and quite a few more diversified
instruments.
The percussion section at an orchestral performance will be behind all other
instrumentalists. Often the percussion setup will take up the full length of
the stage.
At the center of the layout is usually a large bass drum, a snare drum, and
a cymbal which is often used for creschendos. Off to one side might be a set
of tympanis, and the opposite side might have a set of chimes, some bongos or
congas, a xylophone or marimba, etc.
To track percussion for an orchestral piece, it should first be decided what
instruments will be used. Then in your mind or on paper, create the stage
layout. Set up a maximum panning range (which should wider than that for a
standard drum kit) and begin positioning the instruments within the stereo
spectrum.
__Marimba and Xylophone
You could also use note-range panning on instruments like the marimba and
xylophone. Of course with a full percussion setup you wouldn't want to pan
it all the way across the center. For the lower half of the note range you
could use one panning position, and another for the higher half. This is done
to give the feel of different notes coming from different places.
If your song has a fast marimba or xylophone part, consider alternating the
volume on every other attack. The percussionist will be playing with two
rubber mallets, most likely. Usually the person playing the instrument will
have a dominant hand and a weak hand, which will affect the amount of attack.
__Conclusion
These are my thoughts on tracking percussion. I'm certainly no master at it,
but I like to think that a well thought-out approach will produce a result
you can be happy with. Feel free to send me your comments or thoughts
related to this topic.
GD / Hornet - gd@ftp.cdrom.com
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AUDIOFILE ARTICLE: Dynamic Tracking by Gene Wie (psibelius)
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Imagine yourself relaxing in your ergonomic computer chair. Your dolby
surround stereo begins cranking out another mod. Your empty can of Sprite
rests by the monitor. Cubic Player graphics flash on your screen. You
close your eyes and chill out to a fairly decent groove...
...suddenly, you lean the other way and regurgitate your lunch, laced with
an ample sprinkling of Sprite.
Congratulations. You are the newest victim of a bad transition. That,
along with lack of phrasing and lack of dynamic contrast, is a problem that
plagues many musicians, old and new alike.
Musical phrasing is a concept that most instrumental musicians have to
deal with. After learning the rhythm and the notes, musical passages have
to be "phrased" into different sections in order to give the music vitality.
Imagine, if you will, a seashore, with the waves surging in and crashing,
in a slow, timely, rhythm. The rise and fall of the tide is very much like
the rise and fall of a musical passage. It makes otherwise boring sound
attractive. Transitions involve movement between two different phrases of
music. A transition should be relatively smooth, seamless, and effective.
Abrubt transitions, for the most part, should be avoided unless your piece
requires them for some reason. They make songs rough and hard to follow.
A surprise around every corner becomes irritating. Dynamic contrast means
"different volumes in different places." Without dynamic contrast, songs
are stale and ineffective in evoking an emotional response.
In this article, I'm going to focus on identifying musical problem spots
involving phrasing, transitions, and dynamics, as well as propose several
possible solutions. Regardless of the style of music you compose, these
three elements are important factors. Being able to use all three
effectively can make a significant difference in your abilites to compose
entertaining music.
-----
PROBLEM SPOT #1 - The song you've been working on has been happy and
upbeat for a few minutes. Now, you aim to bring down the volume and write
a rather peaceful section with a stirring melody. Approach one: fade out
the main theme, and concurrently fade in the new theme. If the tempo is
different (try to make it different, because it lends the new section
individuality), try to track the former so it is still played at the
same relative tempo, while introducing your new theme. Approach two: End
your previous section with a dramatic blast of some thick layered chord,
fade out, then bring in the new section. Approach three: continue a
segment of your previous theme, like the bass line or a drum beat, and
build your new section over it. This kind of transition is really
inspiring when done correctly. The blend of both sections will be closer,
and will help you avoid the "sounds like two songs in one mod" syndrome.
Please avoid simply stoppping the song by creating one ending, and
continuing on, unless you're aiming for a symphonic 'movement I,'
'movement II,' 'movement III' style, etc...
PROBLEM SPOT #2 - You've been tracking a beautiful slow chorale section in
your epic orchestral piece. It is stunning. Now, you need to return to
your opening fanfare and theme. There are a few ways of doing this. The
first way is to demonstrate your complete lack of appreciation for the
development of the piece and just jump right in to your recapitulation.
This kind of abrubt awakening usually sends the wrong impression about
your music. "Woah, that came out of nowhere? What was this guy thinking?"
Try slowing down your theme, while fading out. Then, implement a quick
crescendo and thrust forward into your main theme. For an example of
this, listen to "Kingdom Skies" by Jason Chong. Chong, in writing his
orchestral piece, uses this technique very well. Another approach to
this problem is to gradually speed up the piece near the end of this area,
and lead right into the main theme without any pause in action.
PROBLEM SPOT #3 - Cut up your melody lines into phrases. Believe me, I
am very guilty of writing extremely long melody lines. These spin on and
on forever, never ending, never pausing for breath. Imagine a perfectly
still lake, the water perfectly still. There is no movement, no life, no
energy. Music cannot be like that! Back to the ocean wave example; there
must be rhythm, and there must be emotion. By creating melody lines which
possess feeling and "say" something, we draw in our audience. One simple
approach to this problem is simply to do a crescendo/descrescendo sequence
with each part of the phrase. Rise and fall, rise and fall.
Why are musical concepts such as dynamics, tempo, blend and balance, and
the like so important? Because they make music entertaining. If we take a
look at the songs which are popular, and regarded as, "good," we can see
that these songs possess a fine control of all those musical elements. If
dynamics cannot be fixed, there is excellent blend and balance to cover it.
If some instruments are too overpowering, dynamic contrast gives life to
other instruments (but nothing will save your song from an overdose of
bass).
DYNAMIC CONTRAST - As a general observation, those of us tracking music
don't always give enough attention to dynamics. Some of us track with the
instruments at volume 64 all of the time, and don't bother using the swells
in dynamics that give music excitement. Listening to a song which is loud
100% of the time is painful. Listening to a song that is soft 100% of the
time is boring. There needs to be a balance between the two. Also, melody
lines stick out and make a better impression when their dynamics are
varied. A short blast of loudness followed by quick, but soft, movement,
is exciting to listen to. Those odd samples which are so popular in
techno songs have a bigger impact if their dynamics are interesting.
Dynamic contrast is one of the most useful tools in creating good
phrasing. The repeated crescendo -> decrescendo pattern is quite prevalant
in classical as well as popular music, an indication of its power. Even
straight eighth notes can be interesting. Change their volumes!
Dynamics. Your most powerful weapon in putting life into dead leads and
backups. Practice in moderation!
-----
EXAMPLE #1 - Here we go through an example song, utilizing the elements
we've discussed so far. We begin with strings, very soft, shifting chords.
A steady drum beat with a snare and timpani fade in. In this intro, we set
the chord progression for the main theme. Then, a suspended cymbal roll
rises in volume and our opening brass fanfare at full volume explodes in a
tide of furious sound. The tempo slowly increases, and another cymbal roll
leads into a fast, soft, section. Pizzicato strings lead on the off beats.
Short burts of brass come in an out on top of a flowing woodwind melody.
The percussion, still soft at this point, provides a groove, as well as
implementing the "wave" effect whenever the brass emerges. The woodwinds
slowly increase volume and then lead into the next section, where the brass
takes the woodwind's theme and plays a fortituous variation. The brass is
joined by the woodwinds, and the percussion leads both into a rehash of the
first theme. We choose a quick and decisive ending this time, so all the
instruments hit the last note at full volume, then immediately drop to 10%
volume. The volume slowly rises, accompanied by a bass drum roll, and a
huge crash of a tamtam (gong) closes the piece. There we have it! One of
many orchestral arrangements! We skipped a slow section this time, but
that's perfectly fine. It isn't necessary.
EXAMPLE #2 - Let's try this approach with a R&B type song. The background
of such a song should provide a constant tempo and a fairly steady
recurring chord progression to back up the lead(s). Percussion should be
mainly filler, except at transitions and solos. Now, perhaps a synth paino
or pad should open. Again, quite slowly, as it helps us get in the "mood."
Percussion background should join in, and perhaps a few kicks of the bass
here and there to bring in the lead(s). Now take some major creative
liberties. Try to get your lead lines to recreate the flow of a human
voice (unless you really want to record lyrics and put them in). Between
each section, make sure you fade in/fade out with different leads, maybe
even have a few duets/trios. Don't make abrubt cuts unless you sandwich
a drum fill in between for good measure. Enjoy it! You can end the song
any number of ways. A drum solo would be nice, but if you don't want to
work that hard, the traditional "continued fade out" ending (with the song
endlessly repeating and getting softer) will work.
-----
I hope that this article has outlined a few basics in tracking musical
phrases for you. Most of these concepts are relatively simple, and a
number of you probably won't need the help, but take it in anyway. I still
hear songs now and then that lack dynamic elements that could really change
the tone of the piece entirely. Feel free to experiment. Innovation in
music is respected and highly regarded, if the results are impressive.
All comments and/or suggestions are welcome. If this editorial has helped
you any, please write!
Gene Wie (psibelius)
gwie@owl.csusm.edu
-----
"The heights by great men reached and kept
Were not attained by suddent flight,
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upward in the night."
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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Mind to Tracker -- Mick Rippon
Everyday we have to express ourselves, through what we
say, what we write, our facial gestures, even the way we
dress. Everything we do contributes to the overall
conception of expression. It's an unavoidable fact that the
tracker interface is nothing but a pretentious musician
feeding off a schedule of samples - far from the true
definition of expression.
The immediate problem a tracker faces is the conversion
of true expression to a mathematical medium such as a
tracker. It seems to be a regular occurrence that missing
expression is subconsciously replaced by the composer.
This results in a vicious trend which begins when the
composer doesn't receive a positive response in their work
- this spawns a compensation often with the result of
producing music that is too complex.
Tracker musicians fall into a fatal mistake of assuming that
the listener will understand the music with equal capacity.
The average tracker musician fails to give attention to the
communative side of music, that is, conveying the
elements of the music which should be the emotional focal
point. Communication is the best attribute to have,
especially if you want to be consistent. If you have the gift
of musical communication, you can turn the mediocre into
the great.
So how does one develop the ability to communicate
their musical ideas? Most of it, I'm afraid to say, is
talent. People who are gifted musically are born with
the fundamentals of pitch, rhythm, and an intangible
knowledge of the intrinsics that create appealing music.
People with a prerequisite spiritual understanding of
music only have the intellectual void to fill.
Of course, talent and the ability to use one's talents are
two distinguishable things. It's my personal view that
any literary material based on tracking should be
written with the perceptive musician in mind, and not
the novice. If you don't have the ability to pick up the
basics yourself up to a level where you think about
more than just the music and sound, then reconsider
uploading anything in the future until you learn. With
any talent, you should be up to this level in no time. If
you're not, then re-consider your strategy.
-mick rippon
-
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As an avid listener of almost any type of music in existence, in the past I
used to always yearn to create my own thought woven melodies, heart driven
drum beats and dream inspired song progressions. I simply loved music,
especially the feelings it gave me and the memories it reminded me of. When
I was young, I often scribbled down short melodies that I had conjured onto
a musical staff, but my music theory was sadly primitive and I knew nothing
of chords. As I got older, I continued to admire music and I even played
several instruments, but I never bothered to take more theory lessons.
Because of this, I wondered if I could ever express my musical imagination
onto paper or anything with consistency, and I was worried that my creations
would be lost as my memory faded.
However, all that changed when I began dabbling in tracking programs for my
computer; Here was a very unorthodox method of composing music, yet it
seemed much easier than keeping track of musical bars, time signatures, key
signatures and "DC al fine" signs. I tried my hand at several of my most
vivid melodies to begin with, and although I was somewhat unsatisfied with
the result, the songs were good enough to convince me that my ultimate goals
could be reached. I continued to "track", finding new samples and testing
new harmonies, not caring much about chord progressions and key signatures.
Within time, I realized that it was possible to create music solely by ear,
and not feel the necessity of planning carefully the chords to a song
prematurely since I just plunked at the keyboard right there, and chose the
notes that sounded best suited for my dreams.
Tracking became a regular hobby of mine, and I found that it was very well
suited for making modern music styles that required heavy emphasis on drum
beats and repetitive bassline patterns. Not only did I compose many days a
week, but I also downloaded various songs and music packs off of BBS's and the
internet. I quickly found styles and composers that I was more fond of than
others, and I picked up an assortment of techniques and tricks that helped
me in my own tracking.
Possibly the biggest and most widespread discovery that I made was that an
echo, a cloned channel with a lesser volume and slight offset from its
original, made a melody sound much smoother and generally more attractive to
the ear. I went crazy using multiple echoes at first, but then realized
that the lead melody now sounded cloudy and indistinct. While conditioning
myself to cut down on the ridiculous echo building, I found a new thing to
endulge in: portamentos. If the lead melody needed something other than
echos to sound good (other than a plain good melody), portamentos in the
proper areas did the job; they made for wondrous texture. One more thing I
discovered in my conquest of music was the joy of panning, experimentation
by shifting the channels left to right and right to left. Armed with these
new weapons, I dove into some more heavy tracking for several months.
Despite the knowledge I had accumulated, the tricks, the special effects, I
finally realized that the essence of a song was its emotional effect on a
person. The key was to create an image inside the listener's mind, be it a
portrait, a scene, a colour or even a texture. For that reason, the title
of the song became extremely important... and a short explanation of the
sequence of the parts of the track also helped in creating the general mood
of different songs. Partial songs that had no distinct image or feeling
simply headed nowhere and I was easily stuck with them, while others that
had very striking impressions were very easy and enjoyable to progress on.
Orchestral pieces needed powerfully moving stories, rock songs needed
emotional appeal and dance songs required the natural groove and liberating
rhythm.
Through my ventures of musical composition, I've learned that the best
suggestion I could possibly make to any other computer musician is that you
need to love composing. Ultimately, you cannot compose just to show off, or
expect to make music and become famous or infamous, rich or glamourous. One
must create music to fulfill his or her own visions and satisfy their minds.
The sincere emotional, spiritual aspect needs to be there; otherwise,
people will only hear a lifeless mass of notes and effects that really
doesn't mean much to them, especially after they've deleted the file.
-Kenji Toyooka
-LakEEE of Craw Productions
-craw@magi.com
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- Basic Drums and Percussion -
- by Leviathan - Renaissance / Kosmic -
- ac@interaccess.com -
I can think of few tracked works which I would consider excellent
which have poor percussion. Percussion is often overlooked by beginning and
experienced trackers alike, who shrug off the issue, saying, "I'm not a
drummer, I can't do drums." I use percussion in a very general sense,
meaning both the traditional set as well as more exotic drums. Without good
percussion, a track sounds either sloppy, fake, or simply boring.
To start, I'll discuss the most basic rythmns possible: a straight
4/4 beat. For those unfamiliar with time signatures, 4/4 means there are
four beats per measure, and a quarter note equals one beat (the latter
doesn't come into play much in tracking, but is essential when reading
sheet music). Here is a straight 4/4 beat:
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Note: Capital letters denote louder
H h H h H h H h H h H h H h H h hits, while lowercase letters
B S B S B S B S denote softer hits.
As you can see, each measure has hihats playing constant quarter
notes, starts with a bass drum hit and has a snare hit on the 3 beat. This,
while very plain and basic, serves as the basis for the current discussion.
The question is, with a plain beat like this, what can we add to spice it up?
Let's take a look. If we add some light grace notes with the snare, we get
a more interesting sound:
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
H h H h H h H h H h H h H h H h
B S sB S B S sBs S
Note that we're not deviating from the original beat, we still have
a bass drum on the 1 beat and snare on the 3. Now, if we add a few bass
drum hits on the offbeats, we get an even more interesting sound:
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
H h H h H h H h H h H h H h H h
B BS sBB BS BB S sBsBBS
Experimentation is the key here, so take a basic beat and liven it up
until you get a consistent yet interesting sound. Remember, the drums are
there to serve as the basis of your music, not the foreground. The drums,
along with the bass, should provide something for the other instruments to
build on. Thus, the bass and drums should be synched as well as possible,
with bass accents coming on the bass drum hits. They don't have to be
perfectly together, but synching the two will help you get a much tighter
sound.
One of the keys to doing percussion is to decide where the best place
for accents in the rythmn are, and then creating those accents with your
extra percussion. It'd be somewhat difficult to do ascii art for this
concept, but try and line up your percussion and drums to create a solid
basis for your music. Accents will typically fall on the 1 and 3 beats,
but also may be anywhere else depending on the style and drum beat chosen.
I've found that accents on offbeats can turn a boring beat into a very
interesting one. Just experiment until you find something you like. Note
that extra percussion is not always needed; in fact, it's not really
appropriate for some styles. However, when it's used correctly, it can give
a song a great, full sound (see Necros' Realization II for a perfect example
of percussion used correctly).
The last topic I'll cover in this article is swing tempo. Swing
tempo gives a song a very unique feel, and can really make a good groove.
Swing tempo is very easy to use, since you just need to lay down some tempo
commands in your favorite tracker. Swing beats have many variations, with
different values for the long and short notes, and which variation to use is
basically personal preference. Row tick values of 9 and 6 repeated work
nicely. 9 and 7 will give less of a swing, while 9 and 5 will give a very
heavy swing. One possible trick with the 9 and 6 swing is to break up the
9 and the 6 into 7 + 2 and 5 + 2 to add space for little trills and accents.
This article is intended as a basic discussion of drums and
percussion, so I don't expect the veteran trackers to be fascinated by it,
but hopefully some of the newer trackers will benefit from it. It's
difficult to discuss this topic generally, since each style has its own
nuances. I didn't quite get to all I wanted to, since I haven't touched
the computer much during the summer, but hopefully I'll be able to
continue the series and get to some better topics. I can be reached at
ac@interaccess.com with comments or questions.
- Leviathan -
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An Outlook on Tracking
When I first grabbed a copy of Composer 669 on the day of it's
release, I said to myself "I'm going to work at this, and track a tune that
sounds like it came right off the radio." Heh, boy, was I stupid.
First, I grabbed samples from any Renaissance tune I had :), and
started with a drum pattern... Worked in a lead..... Threw in some crummy
chords.... Threw it all into a chorus, and built around that.... Voila,
instant crap. Why crap? Well, other than the fact that it was my first
669 attempt after a few pitiful .MODs, it was because I wanted a "Radio"
sound SOOOO badly, that I didn't take the time to really break down what a
generic tune sounds like. To understand what I mean here, go turn on your
radio, and flip the dial to that station we all love to hate, you know the
one... It plays Alanis Morrisette about 45 times an hour, and they always
announce that the new happenin' "RAVE" in town will be featuring Boyz II
Men... Yeah, that one. Now listen carefully to whatever is playing....
Ok, now imagine it without vocals.... If the tune is the everyday generic
stuff, you'll notice that it plays a verse, then a chorus, then maybe
another verse or two, then a chorus again, etc.... If you were to listen
to that tune note for note without the vocals, except tracked by someone
with ST3 or something, wouldn't you find it kinda repetitive and boring?
Sure you would. You know it'd only end up in the Win95 background while
you browse through the Playboy web site or something....That's the mistake
that many new trackers make. They always go for that "Radio" sound on the
first song they track.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to say that it's impossible
to track a tune with 99% realism, nor is it impossible for some "Radio"
tunes to sound great and refreshing without the vocals. It's just that it
takes a LOT of practice and determination in order to put realism into a
tracked tune. If you haven't been trying for long, however, in order to
track a tune with that kind of quality you'd have to be a prodigy.
Cover tunes are different, mind you. If you hear something you
like on the radio, and feel like tracking that exact tune, do your best to
make that tune sound a bit unique. It could be even the most subtle change.
Reason for this would be that if people wanted to hear that exact tune, they
could simply turn on the radio, or pop in a CD, and hear the real thing.
That leaves a lot of room for them to dislike the tracked tune, since they
can directly compare it to the original. :) Daedalus tracked the X-Files
theme at one time, but he added to the tune, and basically threw in another
few minutes of unique score, which made me a lot more interested in hearing
it through, and I still have it in my lil' collection on my D drive.
If you like putting the most realism in your tunes, and have a
good voice, another alternative would be to add lyrics. It may not be as
wonderful for GUS owners with 512k, since VOC files generally take up a
motherload of room when dealing with lyrics, but since the technology is
available, why not take advantage of it? Mayhem and Mosaic both had tunes
with full vocals which competed at Naid, and both did very well. I could
never put lyrics in my tunes, though. Not because I wouldn't WANT to, or
because it's a bad idea..... Simply put, I couldn't sing if my life depended
on it... Kareoke just isn't an option for me. :)
When I'm tracking a tune now, I'll start in the usual fashion, with
either a lead or drum pattern in my head that helps everything else to
snowball, then I work in the chords, and other necessities, and THEN I'll
add some background.... After a series of patterns, I'll try to shift the
feel of the tune, even the slightest bit. Throw in some little additive
here and there, and just try to make it sound as fluid as possible. Having
many of these small changes in a tune really helps to keep the listener
interested in what's coming next. That's one of the unique things about
tracked music. It makes up for it's lack of vocals in the way the tune
flows. You must admit, if you were reading a book that had no plot twists,
or an exciting storyline, you wouldn't even get through the first few
chapters before tossing it back on the bookshelf.
The best thing to keep in mind is that you're your own worst critic.
Keep listening to your tune for a while... Every time you add a pattern, or
change anything, try listening from a few patterns back. The more you
listen, the more faults you'll find. Eventually you'll have heard your song
SO much, that you almost HAVE to change something around to keep you from
either going insane, or fall asleep from boredom. Slowly, ideas will start
popping in your head as to how a pattern can be spruced up, whether that be
a snazzier drum line, a change of lead, etc... Don't just finish a tune for
the sake of just getting it over with, either. You'll find that there will
be a lot of holes remaining where something can be added. Once the tune is
released, people are bound to grab it, so you might as well do the best and
most thorough job you can before anyone gets that chance to notice the gaps
and/or flaws. I know that's easier said than done, since I've had many tunes
that I just got sick to death of, and just slapped on an ending just to get
it out of my way. Now that I listen to the tunes, however, I slap myself
on the forehead and say "Why didn't I add <insert idea here>?!?"
"When I was young, whenever we heard a strange noise, and we
didn't know where the hell it was coming from, we'd finally
turn off the radio....." - Rick McAllister
THEORY vs. NO THEORY
--------------------
The wonderful thing about tracking is the interface. If you have
this great song idea stuck in your head, you don't have to go through a
big course on sheet music composition just to get it down on paper. Now
it's just a matter of throwing a tracker on-screen, grabbing some samps, and
plucking down the melody or whatever, note for note... And rather than funny
little note symbols that I never could get the hang of, it's now a simple
"C-5" for a C (duh) in the 5th octave. When I used to play around on my
friend's piano when I was younger, and I came up with a neat idea, I'd
always mark it down on paper like so: C-D-|D#-G-|C2-G-|D#-D-|........
Each vertical bar would be a metronome tick, meaning every note (or dash)
would be 1/4 of a tick.... I learned 4/4 time without even realizing it.
So even before touching a tracker, I used the same interface. That made
canverting any ideas I had into a finished product a lot easier for me
when I started up.
Other than Major,
Minor, and Diminished chords, that's pretty much
the extent of my knowledge of theory. In fact, there are many trackers
out there who know very little theory, but can still chuck out some wicked,
well harmonized tunes. Probably the most famous example would be Skaven
(one of the most overly-discussed trackers in history, I might add. :).
So the question remains: Is theory needed when tracking a tune?
The answer is split. It really depends on which side of the coin you're
looking at. Theory will always be NICE to know, (I doubt there's anyone
in this world who wouldn't benefit from it), but it's rarely a necessity.
If you're the type of person who can throw a few chords together, listen
to each, and determine whether or not they work together, you have an ear
for music. It's like having an inner knowledge of theory without having
to take lessons. Granted it's only a small percentage of theory practice,
but it's a great area to be naturally good at.
But if you really don't have the capability to determine what
chords theoretically work well together in your head, it would be very
wise to be taught some theory, so even though you may not have a natural
ear for music, you can use the rules and guidelines for chord progression
to help you through. Theory is also very useful for people who are used
to tracking a tune on a heavy-duty trial and error basis. I have to
constantly listen to a pattern over and over while adding anything to it.
If not, I lose track quickly of what I was doing, and nothing ends up
sounding right together. Theory would help to speed up the process of
tracking so I could spend more time thinking up new ideas instead of
correcting the ones I just put down.
When this conversation arises, there are always some people who
think that the knowledge of theory does more harm than good to a person
with a natural ear for music. Some feel that the person concentrates more
on having the song theoretically correct, and ends up questionning every
chord that comes into his/her head. I guess they feel that "If it ain't
broke, don't fix it."..... Well, I can't really speak from experience
but if I did know theory, I doubt I'd rely on it too much. Granted it
would come in handy when I'm stuck, but for the most part, the music
would still come out of my head, not from the ten commandments of music
composition. (Actually, it's more like 278632637863 commandments, but who's
counting?)
Whichever the case, people who know and don't know theory are
tracking, and in many cases, the non-theoretical people are just as
talented as the rest, so if you feel that tracking isn't for you just
because you never took theory, keep working at it, because chances are
it won't play a big factor. Ahh, the miracles of modern technology.
Future Assassin / woop@magi.com
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[ The Process ]
[ necros / five musicians / dCb ]
[ email: necros@fm.org / necros@global2000.net ]
[ #1 ]
( intro )
Hi. This is my semi-monthly blabbering session about tracking music and other
fun things like composition and technique and keeping your brain watered. For
this article, I'm going to talk about something important to writing good songs
and good trackings. Balance.
( abstract )
When writing a song, or painting a picture, or doing some creative writing,
there are many factors which contribute to how 'well-composed' the work ends up
being. It doesn't always matter how technically good you are at certain
stylistic elements of your field if you don't know how to put them together
into something that is clear and coherent. In the tracking vein, this idea is
very important as well. A song must have a certain amount of balance in order
to appear polished and keep the listener impressed. To be successful at
creating balanced songs, you must first realize the elements which go into your
music.
Think for a moment about the typical song. It contains many elements, some of
which may be melodic, percussive, or a mixture in between. How one arranges
those elements is of course a very subjective process. Drums, bass, synths, all
combine to produce something which tries to become something other than the sum
of its parts; it tries to create something new. It is important to look at each
of the parts of your song and try to make sure they are all occupying exactly
the place that you want them to. None should be overly important unless you
consciously decide it to be. This helps the composition maintain some sort of
unity and focus.
( application )
For simplicity's sake, I want to talk about the percussive instruments first.
Every song usually has some sort of percussion track. This may be anything from
a brush drum jazz groove to a distorted breakbeat aphex twin-sounding techno
tune. Whatever it is, though, there are a few things you can do to make sure
your percussion is rich and varied (and balanced :).
Firstly, analyze the groove you are trying to create. Is it laid-back? Is it
driving? Is it syncopatic? In a good percussion track, each instrument
contributes to, and defines the groove. Simple grooves such as rock beats may
only need a hi-hat, bass drum and snare to create an authentic groove. Other
styles such as techno may require five or six tracks of interleaved rhythms to
create that magic percussion track. In any case, though, think about your
rhythm carefully. Try to define it in an abstract sense. I have found that
thinking about complex rhythms is easier when you try to imagine them at
half-speed. See the interplay. Figure out what is required to recreate the
sound you are looking for.
Once you know what you are trying to create, you can start actually tracking
it. Since percussion is the beat behind most songs, you probably want it to be
as clear as possible. Firstly, get clean samps. I know that isn't always
possible, but usually you can at least try to get decent ones. Then make sure
you are playing them in the right octave :) I've seen people play snare samples
almost a full octave above what they were originally sampled at. This is fine
if you are INTENDING to use the sample in a different way, but sometimes it is
unintentional and ends up very odd. Use as many samples as you need, especially
if the groove requires variety.
Also, try not to fall into the trap of having every sample play constantly.
Need an offbeat? Don't make that snare hit again; instead try using a conga, or
a tom, or a hihat retrig, or something. Using too few samples and repeating
them too often in the groove leads the listener to think the beat is more
repetitive than it actually is. Try to spread out your hits. Use offsets so
that multiple hits of a sample don't sound completely alike. Try portas on drum
samples. All of this will help the balance of the track.
You must also make sure that your track occupies a full spectrum of sonic
variety. Most good tracks have a low frequency part, a middle frequency part,
and a high frequency part. Bass drums, subbass, low toms; these are low
frequency noises. Try not to overuse them if you can, a muddy lower end makes
the entire groove sound loose. Save them for the 'backbeat' of the groove. The
middle end is snares, congas, white noise hits, anything within a medium
frequency range. This is usually the offbeat portion of the groove. It is also
the instruments you use to syncopate and create subrhythms in your tracks.
Usually a lot of mid-frequency drums are required to create a textured track.
However, if you are short on sample-space, try taking hihats or other higher
noise and playing them down a few octaves for special effects or light hits.
Depending on the groove, adjust the volume of these instruments carefully; too
loud and it ends up making the groove sound off-kilter, too soft and you might
end up sounding like a 4-on-the-floor techno groove by accident. The higher
instruments like hi-hats, shakers, tambourines, etc, are the high-frequency
noises. These should be sampled at 22khz or above if you can do it. Also, make
sure they are played on a note which doesn't alias their high frequencies away.
That is, make sure that the note SOUNDS as high as it can. Sometimes playing
the sample up and down a few notes reveals that at a particular pitch, the high
frequencies seem to stand out more. This is because of the sample replay
aliasing and the samplerate of the sound (however you don't need to worry about
that). Just make sure it sounds as 'high' as it should :) High-frequency tracks
are important to give your beat a rounded sound. It also makes your output seem
to be at a higher frequency than it actually is :> I often use samples with a
lower sampling rate for basses/snares (since they are low-mid frequency
instruments), and adding a high track over top gives the illusion that the
bass/snares have more high-end than they actually do.
Percussion tracks, however, don't have to always consist solely of drum
instruments. Many times, some melodic instruments play a large part in creating
a interesting and textured groove. Most often, one will want to include
bass-style instruments in the percussive groove as well. The interplay between
drums and bass is usually the heart of any song. You must be very careful not
to make them contradict each other, or have them using conflicting rhythms.
Usually the best way to do this is to have the bass line take over some of the
syncopation present in your drum track. For example, instead of doing the
cheesy B-B-S--S-SB-S-B 'alternative rock' cliche drum track, perhaps try
substituting bass slaps or staccato rez or something for the syncopated snare
hits (the 2nd and 3rd hits). This way, it is the _interplay_ of the tracks
which creates the total groove, not just one or the other. The best way to test
this stuff out in a tracker is to use the step-time function (the 8 key in
st3/it). Step through each row slowly, and see that all your tracks line up and
complement each other.
Another point which is important in creating a unified rhythm section is the
fine art of volume control. Many people forget entirely that they have a nice
pretty volume row at their disposal. USE IT! :> A hi-hat track with every
single note at 64 volume doesn't sound very wonderful unless you are aiming for
that 80's Ministry kinda feel. The reason is because 99% of the professional
rhythm people on this earth would add some sort of flavour to the track. This
doesn't apply simply to hi-hats, it applies to any track in your mix. It is
important to create a dynamic contrast, not only within an entire song, but
within individual tracks themselves. Vary the volumes of your percussion to
make accented notes stand out, and non-accented ones a bit softer. Which notes
you accent of course depends entirely on the groove you are using. I'm sure you
will find that a bit of judicious volume changing will add that needed spice to
your mix.
Next time we'll cover the same topic, but taken from a melodic point of view;
the art of making melodies and chords which work well with the rest of your
balanced mix. Until then, happy musik making.
- necros / fm / dCb
necros@fm.org
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A U D I O F I L E
Issue #1
Editor: Basehead (bh@fm.org)
Font: Sq2 / iCE
New Issues: ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/incoming/news
Thanks to this issue's contributors: Siren, Aahz, The Hacker, Grave Digger,
Future Assassin, LakEEE, Leviathan, Psibelius, Necros, and Mick Rippon.
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